1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cryogenic fluids. In another aspect, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for processing, transporting and/or storing cryogenic fluids. In even another aspect, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for converting a cryogenic fluid into a gas. In even another aspect, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for processing, transporting and/or storing liquified natural gas (“LNG”). In still another aspect, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for modifying and/or retrofitting cryogenic vaporization systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most conveniently, natural gas is transported via pipeline from the location where it is produced to the location where it is consumed. However, given certain barriers of geography, economics, and/or politics, transportation by pipeline is not always possible, economic or permitted. Without an effective way to transport the natural gas to a location where there is a commercial demand, the gas may be burned as it is produced, which is wasteful.
Liquefaction of the natural gas facilitates storage and transportation of the natural gas (a mixture of hydrocarbons, typically 65 to 99 percent methane, with smaller amounts of ethane, propane and butane). When natural gas is chilled to below its boiling point (in the neighborhood of −260 F depending upon the composition) it becomes an odorless, colorless liquid having a volume which is less than one six hundredth ( 1/600) of its volume at ambient atmospheric surface temperature and pressure. Thus, it will be appreciated that a 150,000 cubic meter LNG tanker ship is capable of carrying the equivalent of 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
It is not uncommon for natural gas to be produced in remote locations, such as Algeria, Borneo, or Indonesia, and then liquefied and shipped overseas in this manner to Europe, Japan, or the United States. Typically, the natural gas is gathered through one or more pipelines to a land-based liquefaction facility. The LNG is then loaded onto a tanker equipped with cryogenic compartments (such a tanker may be referred to as an LNG carrier or “LNGC”) by pumping it through a relatively short pipeline. After the LNGC reaches the destination port, the LNG is offloaded by cryogenic pump to a land-based regasification facility, where it may be stored in a liquid state or regasified. If regasified, the resulting natural gas then may be distributed through a pipeline system to various locations where it is consumed.
In many circumstances, hot water or steam is used to heat the liquefied gas for vaporization. Unfortunately, such hot water or steam often freezes so as to give rise to the hazard of clogging up the evaporator. Various improvements in this process have heretofore been made. The evaporators presently used are mainly of the open rack type, intermediate fluid type and submerged combustion type.
Open rack type evaporators use sea water as a heat source for the vaporization of liquefied natural gas. These evaporators use once-through seawater flow on the outside of a heat exchanger as the source of heat for the vaporization. They do not block up from freezing water, are easy to operate and maintain, but they are expensive to build. They are widely used in Japan. Their use in the USA and Europe is limited and economically difficult to justify for several reasons. First the present permitting environment does not allow returning the seawater to the sea at a very cold temperature because of environmental concerns for marine life. The present permitting environment allows only a small decrease in temperature before returning the seawater back to the sea, which would require a very large sea water quantity to be pumped through the system, if the terminal vaporization capacity was designed for a commercial size as economics would require. Also coastal waters like those of the southern USA are often not clean and contain a lot of suspended solids, which could require filtration. In addition the sea water intake structure would have to be located far away from the evaporators in most cases because of location restraints or to get to deep and clean sea water at the intake. With these restraints the use of open rack type vaporizers in the USA is environmentally and economically not feasible.
Instead of vaporizing liquefied natural gas by direct heating with water or steam, evaporators of the intermediate fluid type use propane, fluorinated hydrocarbons or like refrigerant having a low freezing point. The refrigerant is heated with hot water or steam first to utilize the evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant for the vaporization of liquefied natural gas. Evaporators of this type are less expensive to build than those of the open rack-type but require heating means, such as a burner, for the preparation of hot water or steam and are therefore costly to operate due to fuel consumption.
Evaporators of the submerged combustion type comprise a tube immersed in water which is heated with a combustion gas injected thereinto from a burner. Like the intermediate fluid type, the evaporators of the submerged combustion type involve a fuel cost and are expensive to operate.
The patent art is replete with a number of patents directed to processes and apparatus for the vaporization of liquefied natural gas.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,115, issued on Oct. 9, 1979 to Ooka et al., describes an apparatus for vaporizing liquefied natural gas using estuarine water. This system is arranged in a series of heat exchangers of the indirect heating, intermediate fluid type. A multitubular concurrent heat exchanger is also utilized in conjunction with a multitubular countercurrent heat exchanger. As a result, salt water is used for the vaporization process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,802, issued on Sep. 30, 1980 to the same inventor, describes a variation on this type and also uses estuarine water in a multitubular heat exchanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,129, issued on May 25, 1982 to Hong et al., teaches the utilization of solar energy for LNG vaporization. The solar energy is used for heating a second fluid, such as water. This second fluid is passed into heat exchange relationship with the liquefied natural gas. The water contains a anti-freeze additive so as to prevent freezing of the water during the vaporization process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,660, issued on Aug. 23, 1983 to Vogler, Jr. et al., describes an atmospheric vaporizer suitable for vaporizing cryogenic liquids on a continuous basis. This device employs heat absorbed from the ambient air. At least three substantially vertical passes are piped together. Each pass includes a center tube with a plurality of fins substantially equally spaced around the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,452, issued on Oct. 12, 1993 to L. Z. Widder, also discloses an ambient air vaporizer and heater for cryogenic liquids. This apparatus utilizes a plurality of vertically mounted and parallelly connected heat exchange tubes. Each tube has a plurality of external fins and a plurality of internal peripheral passageways symmetrically arranged in fluid communication with a central opening. A solid bar extends within the central opening for a predetermined length of each tube to increase the rate of heat transfer between the cryogenic fluid in its vapor phase and the ambient air. The fluid is raised from its boiling point at the bottom of the tubes to a temperature at the top suitable for manufacturing and other operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,542, issued on Oct. 13, 1998 to Christiansen et al., teaches a heat exchange device having a first heat exchanger for evaporation of LNG and a second heat exchanger for superheating of gaseous natural gas. The heat exchangers are arranged for heating these fluids by means of a heating medium and having an outlet which is connected to a mixing device for mixing the heated fluids with the corresponding unheated fluids. The heat exchangers comprise a common housing in which they are provided with separate passages for the fluids. The mixing device, constitutes a unit together with the housing and has a single mixing chamber with one single fluid outlet. In separate passages, there are provided valves for the supply of LNG in the housing and in the mixing chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,492, issued Sep. 23, 2003, to Eyermann, discloses apparatus and process for vaporizing liquefied natural gas including the extraction of heat from ambient air to heat circulating water. The heat exchange process includes a heat exchanger for the vaporization of liquefied natural gas, a circulating water system, and a water tower extracting heat from the ambient air to heat the circulating water. To make the process work throughout the year the process may be supplemented by a submerged fired heater connected to the water tower basin.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,041, issued Nov. 11, 2003 to Eyermann, discloses a process for vaporizing liquefied natural gas including passing water into a water tower so as to elevate a temperature of the water, pumping the elevated temperature water through a first heat exchanger, passing a circulating fluid through the first heat exchanger so as to transfer heat from the elevated temperature water into the circulating fluid, passing the liquefied natural gas into a second heat exchanger, pumping the heated circulating fluid from the first heat exchanger into the second heat exchanger so as to transfer heat from the circulating fluid to the liquefied natural gas, and discharging vaporized natural gas from the second heat exchanger.
In spite of the advancements of the prior art, there is still a need in the art for improved apparatus and methods for processing, transporting, and/or storing LNG.
There is another need in the art for apparatus and methods for converting a liquified cryogenic fluid into a gas.
There is even another need in the art for apparatus and methods for converting a liquified natural gas into gaseous natural gas.
This and other needs in the art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings and claims.